Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End?
by The 4 Marauders
Summary: Will and Elizabeth and the crew are in Tia Dalma's hut, thinking over recent events, and still reeling over a certain death. [Beware: contains POTC 2 spoilers. Note: Written for the Marauders' Summer fic exchange, from Moony for Padfoot.]


**This little fic was from our Marauders' Summer Fic Exchange we did between us; I, Moony, wrote this dedicated to Padfoot. Hope you enjoy! **

**OH! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2, DO _NOT_ READ! CONTAINS SPOILERS! Thank you. Read on.

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Miserable. _Thunk_.

Completely miserable. _Thunk._ With a sharp tug, Will yanked his father's dagger from the table, and threw it down again. _Thunk._

Utter disbelief turned to anger, but Will could hardly feel any emotion at all, he was so numb. _Thunk._

Unaware of the damage he was doing to Tia Dalma's poor table he threw down the dagger again, missing her look of slight disapproval as she passed by with drinks. Handing one to him, she shook her head. When he took it, he caught sight of Elizabeth, looking as if her very heart was being wrenched from her chest. Despair welled up inside Will as the painful flashback of her betrayal resurfaced; Elizabeth passionately kissing Jack filled his vision. His rage surged, and there was a particularly vicious _thunk_ that took a big chunk out of the table.

When he received a few startled looks from Pintel and Ragetti, he pulled out the knife and just stared at it moodily. Angered as he was by Elizabeth's betrayal, he couldn't help but feel ashamed that he was angry at the man who had sacrificed himself so they all could live. Dishonest scoundrel Captain Jack Sparrow might have been, but he had helped them all out of some tight spots; however, he was most often the cause of those tight spots. Again, Will turned and looked at Elizabeth.

* * *

Tia Dalma came up and handed Elizabeth a drink. When she shook her head, she urged, "To fight against the cold, and the sorrow." Elizabeth took it and made to drink; Tia Dalma, satisfied, turned away. Just as the cup reached her lips, a fresh wave of grief and guilt washed over her and she put it down. Jack was dead, and it was all her fault. Guilt overwhelmed her until she nearly burst into tears. She had surprised herself when she locked Jack to the mast; he, on the other hand, seemed to have expected something of the sort.

His roguish smirk taunted her, as did his last words. "Pirate," echoed through her head; she could hardly believed that she, Elizabeth Swann had kissed a man who was not her intended, then proceeded to handcuff him to the mast of a doomed ship to save her own skin. A trusted friend, at that. Well, more of an acquaintance, really. But had she really only kissed Jack as a means to distract him? Or had it meant something more, something that said words she couldn't say? What about his compass pointing right to him? It had to be faulty, it just couldn't be true. She was in love with Will, that's why they are engaged.

Speaking of her fiancé, she could feel his eyes on her. She avoided his gaze, feeling even guiltier. What if he had seen them together? She had waited until she was sure he was down in the boat, but his plainly accusatory tone when he asked where Jack was had answered that question. She hadn't meant to complicate things between them. She thought back to her interrupted wedding ceremony, which seemed like so long ago. She had been so confused when Will hadn't shown up, but waited and waited until everyone else had left her, sitting in the rain desperately hoping he'd show up. She had just begun to think he wasn't coming when Lord Beckett came to explain that he had been arrested. Lord Beckett, that slime of a man! He had been so rude to her, even at the end of her gun. She couldn't help but dwell on his parting words to her, "An untimely interruption, or fate intervenes?" He had just meant to incense her, but she wondered if there was truth to his words. Still feeling Will's eyes on her, she looked up.

* * *

She finally met his gaze, and when she did Will's heart lurched at the pitiful sight of her tearstained face. His numbness melted away.

Leaping to his feet, Will said, "If there was anything we could do to save Jack, anything, I—" His outcry was abruptly cut off by Tia Dalma.

"Would you do it?" She walked forward a few steps, looking them each in the eye. "Would you sail to the ends of the earth and beyond, to pick up Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pearl?" Slowly, as the shock of her words subsided, Will, Elizabeth and the others agreed that they would, with a chorus of "Aye, yes, of course." Tia Dalma's eyes glittered, and she said, "Well, then. You will need a captain who knows those waters."

With that she turned and looked up the stairs; a pair of strangely familiar boots appeared at the top. Nothing had ever prepared them for the shock that came next. Captain Barbossa, looking completely healthy and alive, stood at the bottom of the staircase with his monkey sitting on his shoulder. Taking a great bite out of a green apple, he said, "Well, now. What's become of my ship, the Pearl?"


End file.
